Intel Core i7-870 vs AMD Athlon 64 3000+

Comparative analysis of Intel Core i7-870 and AMD Athlon 64 3000+ processors for all known characteristics in the following categories: Essentials, Performance, Memory, Compatibility, Peripherals, Security & Reliability, Advanced Technologies, Virtualization. Benchmark processor performance analysis: PassMark - Single thread mark, PassMark - CPU mark, Geekbench 4 - Single Core, Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core, 3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score, CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s), CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s).

Intel Core i7-870

AMD Athlon 64 3000+

Differences

Reasons to consider the Intel Core i7-870

CPU is newer: launch date 5 year(s) 9 month(s) later
3 more cores, run more applications at once: 4 vs 1
Around 80% higher clock speed: 3.60 GHz vs 2 GHz
A newer manufacturing process allows for a more powerful, yet cooler running processor: 45 nm vs 130 nm
2x more L1 cache, more data can be stored in the L1 cache for quick access later
2x more L2 cache, more data can be stored in the L2 cache for quick access later
2.5x better performance in PassMark - Single thread mark: 1384 vs 549
6.8x better performance in PassMark - CPU mark: 3140 vs 463
2.4x better performance in Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core: 2032 vs 834

Specifications (specs)
Launch date	September 2009 vs December 2003
Number of cores	4 vs 1
Maximum frequency	3.60 GHz vs 2 GHz
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm vs 130 nm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core) vs 128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core) vs 512 KB
Benchmarks
PassMark - Single thread mark	1384 vs 549
PassMark - CPU mark	3140 vs 463
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2032 vs 834

Reasons to consider the AMD Athlon 64 3000+

Around 7% lower typical power consumption: 89 Watt vs 95 Watt
Around 55% better performance in Geekbench 4 - Single Core: 850 vs 547

Specifications (specs)
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	89 Watt vs 95 Watt
Benchmarks
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	850 vs 547

Compare benchmarks

CPU 1: Intel Core i7-870
CPU 2: AMD Athlon 64 3000+

PassMark - Single thread mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

1384

549

PassMark - CPU mark

CPU 1

CPU 2

3140

463

Geekbench 4 - Single Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

547

850

Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core

CPU 1

CPU 2

2032

834

Name	Intel Core i7-870	AMD Athlon 64 3000+
PassMark - Single thread mark	1384	549
PassMark - CPU mark	3140	463
Geekbench 4 - Single Core	547	850
Geekbench 4 - Multi-Core	2032	834
3DMark Fire Strike - Physics Score	2453
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Face Detection (mPixels/s)	1.029
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Ocean Surface Simulation (Frames/s)	53.478
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - T-Rex (Frames/s)	0.342
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Video Composition (Frames/s)	1.541
CompuBench 1.5 Desktop - Bitcoin Mining (mHash/s)	4.602

Compare specifications (specs)

	Intel Core i7-870	AMD Athlon 64 3000+
Essentials
Architecture codename	Lynnfield	Clawhammer
Launch date	September 2009	December 2003
Launch price (MSRP)	$197	$65
Place in performance rating	2671	2691
Price now	$98.99	$74.95
Processor Number	i7-870
Series	Legacy Intel® Core™ Processors
Status	Discontinued
Value for money (0-100)	15.90	1.82
Vertical segment	Desktop	Desktop
Performance
64 bit support
Base frequency	2.93 GHz
Bus Speed	2.5 GT/s DMI
Die size	296 mm2	193 mm
L1 cache	64 KB (per core)	128 KB
L2 cache	256 KB (per core)	512 KB
L3 cache	8192 KB (shared)
Manufacturing process technology	45 nm	130 nm
Maximum core temperature	72.7°C
Maximum frequency	3.60 GHz	2 GHz
Number of cores	4	1
Number of threads	8
Transistor count	774 million	69 million
VID voltage range	0.6500V-1.4000V
Memory
Max memory channels	2
Maximum memory bandwidth	21 GB/s
Maximum memory size	16 GB
Supported memory types	DDR3 1066/1333
Compatibility
Low Halogen Options Available
Max number of CPUs in a configuration	1	1
Package Size	37.5mm x 37.5mm
Sockets supported	LGA1156	754
Thermal Design Power (TDP)	95 Watt	89 Watt
Peripherals
Max number of PCIe lanes	16
PCI Express revision	2.0
PCIe configurations	1x16, 2x8
Security & Reliability
Execute Disable Bit (EDB)
Intel® Trusted Execution technology (TXT)
Advanced Technologies
Enhanced Intel SpeedStep® technology
Idle States
Instruction set extensions	Intel® SSE4.2
Intel 64
Intel® AES New Instructions
Intel® Demand Based Switching
Intel® Hyper-Threading technology
Intel® Turbo Boost technology
Intel® vPro™ Platform Eligibility
Physical Address Extensions (PAE)	36-bit
Thermal Monitoring
Virtualization
Intel® Virtualization Technology (VT-x)
Intel® Virtualization Technology for Directed I/O (VT-d)
Intel® VT-x with Extended Page Tables (EPT)